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Tristan drapes his arm over my shoulders, strolling next to me as we walk along the shoreline. We might be exposed out here, but it lessens the chance of something or someone sneaking up on us. Right now, we need to find the rest of the group we left behind. If they had a run-in with the monsters that control this island, they might have answers that we can use to our benefit.
“Our old camp should be up ahead. If they’re not there, they still won’t be far. We can head to the creek if we have to. We might also have the advantage. Only Tiffany, Ian, and Reggie might be alive. That’s six against three.” Chase clutches the machete, peering at us from over his shoulder.
“I doubt they’re where we left them. They had to have gone somewhere they thought was safer. Maybe there’s some more caves or trees separate from the forest that they could have built a shelter from.” Evander scratches his fingers across his head. “It’s what I would do. Better to take higher ground or to the trees. It would be easier with so few of them.”
“Damn, why don’t you make us a fucking treehouse or something?” Davian scoops up a smooth rock and tosses it into the waves.
“Figure out how to plant us a garden or some shit then, farm boy.” Adam grins with his words. “I need you all to fucking Gilligan’s Island this shit.”
“Nah, man. We’re like Lost.” Tristan tugs me with him until he surprises Chase and hooks him in a headlock. “We even have a doc.”
The others laugh, the sound of their playfulness helping to ease my nerves. It’s easier not to think about all the possible outcomes with them teasing and playing around with each other, acting as if they’ve been friends forever.
“What do you think, Eliana?” Adam asks.
I look at the five of them, stopping on Davian. “We have a ginger,” I tease. “Just as hot, too.”
Davian chuckles and rushes me, lifting me off my feet. “That’s what I’m talking about. You hear her, assholes? I’m the hot one.”
I laugh as Davian spins me around, his eyes sparkling in the sunlight. We have at least an hour or two until sundown and plan to relocate our camp from where we previously were. It’s safer to keep moving. That was the first thing we agreed on. If we can’t find the others, there is no way we want them to find us and catch us off guard.
“Shit. There it is.” Chase’s voice lowers. “Is that a body?”
“Two. There’s one over there.” Tristan points toward the crashing waves. Whoever it is looks as if they were trying to run toward the water.
Davian swears under his breath and sets me on my feet. “Get your weapons ready. Stay close.”
“Eliana, get in the middle.” Evander holds his hand out to me.
I honestly don’t have a problem with that. It might be wrong of me, but if they want to protect me between them, I’m here for it. I don’t need to test my ability or prove my strength. I just want to survive.
We shuffle through the sand as a group, keeping our eyes trained on our surroundings. I can’t take mine off the first body though. It looks normal. It’s not one of those things—the half transformed. It’s definitely human. Male.
Chase strides ahead and uses his spear to push the body over. Leaning over, he checks for a pulse even though there is no way someone could survive with...ugh. I think part of his insides hangs out.
Swinging his attention to us, Chase furrows his brows. “It’s a stranger. I think human. He’s naked like we were.” Chase bends down and lifts up the man’s hand. “Looks like he was restrained as well. There’s bruising on his wrists from trying to break free of something. Looks fresher than ours. They must’ve come to the island after us.”
Adam tenses next to me. “So, there are more people on this island. What the actual fuck is going on? They’re kidnapping humans and trying to turn us like them. Why?”
“Maybe for population growth? To hunt? It could be for a lot of reasons. Eliana’s stalker wouldn’t say anything, but I know he knows.” Evander looks at me. “I bet you could get the answers out of him. We keep intercepting his attempt at alone time with her, but maybe if we just watch and wait, he’ll let his guard down and you can find out more for us.”
I dart my gaze toward the water, where a body lies in the sand as a wave crashes over it. I know that we need the answers, but the thought of finding Kellan instead of just getting off this island freaks me out a bit. Especially knowing that my grandmother was the only one to have ever escaped.
“No way. I don’t want to put her in that position,” Tristan says. He grazes his fingers over my arm. “He already thinks she belongs to him or some bullshit.”
Evander frowns. “But—”
Something rustles from the trees and a net falls over Chase and the body he inspects. No one has a chance to react as a man jumps from the trees and tackles him. He hollers and tries to shove them off. A blade sparkles in the sunshine a second before the man stabs it into Chase.
I scream and run forward, my fear getting the best of me and stealing away my good senses. I beat the others to the man and swing my makeshift spear at him hard enough to get him off Chase. I jab it into his leg, piercing his skin. The man screams, his voice higher than I think even mine can go. He locks his fingers around the spear and snatches it away from me.
Chase manages to get his knife through the netting and cuts it open to free himself. “Eliana, behind you!”
I spin around in time to see another man charging me. Tristan tackles him, and I realize there are three other guys. Davian struggles underneath another net, thrashing around. Adam faces another man, trying to get close enough to stab him.
My mind races. Why are they attacking us? Who are they? Did they kill Tiffany and her group?
I spin on my feet, looking for the next threat. Hopping over a body, I go after the guy fighting Adam. A net falls over me, tangling around my limbs. The weights hit the ground beside me, stopping me from throwing it off. Another man jumps down from the tree in front of me. I don’t get a chance to even try to escape before he grabs the bottom of the net and scoops it up, snatching me off my feet. My body curls in on itself, and I scream and thrash, trying everything I can to get him to drop me to the sand.
